


Tropaeolum

by Tempestas_D_Uzu



Series: Bouquet [6]
Category: Batman Beyond, DCU, DCU (Comics), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Superman (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: 50 years later, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Batman Beyond AU, Bi-Curiosity, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Terry McGinnis, Break Up, Drunk kiss, Flower Language, Future Era SuperBat, Future Fic, Gay Male Character, Growing Up, M/M, One Shot, Original Character(s), Phone Break Up, Post-Break Up, Scary younger sisters, Sister Complex, Terry POV, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 18:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tempestas_D_Uzu/pseuds/Tempestas_D_Uzu
Summary: Bruce decides to organize Terry a 'playdate' with another teenaged hero, and Terry needs to tell himself that it's completely natural to admire rediculously pretty people, who definitely know that they're attractive.





	Tropaeolum

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Myosotis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11213166) by [Tempestas_D_Uzu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tempestas_D_Uzu/pseuds/Tempestas_D_Uzu). 



 

 **Tropaeolum**  
**(Nasturtium: Conquest; Victory in Battle)**

 

Terry loved being Batman; something that had simply started as a way to avenge his father's death had become part of who Terry McGinnis was. And yeah, Bruce scared the shit out of him, and most nights Terry went home bruised and exhausted, but the whole thing made Terry feel like he was making a difference in the world, he was doing something good with his life.

He knew there were other heroes scattered across the planet, he had just never met any of them. Well, okay, Terry had met retired heroes in Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, and Tim Drake and his wife Stephanie, he had heard stories of Jason Todd (a former Robin, then Red Hood, an antihero who had died a few years ago), Cassandra Cain (who had retired to live in Japan with her wife and ran a dojo) and even Damian Wayne (who had taken over the League of Shadows and had led them to a new era as antiheroes), he had read about the Justice League in his history textbooks and he knew quite a lot about the Founding members, but he had yet to meet active superheroes.

And apparently, Bruce had taken that into consideration and had organized Terry a 'playdate' with another hero his age, because here he was, crouched amongst the gargoyles overlooking Gotham city, with a teenager wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans, and a dark blue skin-tight shirt with a red S emblazoned proudly on the front, floating behind him with his arms resting lazily behind his head.

Bruce had decided to have him play nice with _Superboy_ of all people.

"So, you're Batboy." The other teenager drawled playfully, studying Terry from behind his sunglasses ( _honestly, who wore sunglasses at night?!_ ). His hair fell stylishly across his forehead, the back of his head was shaved, and a pair of earrings shone in the dim light; Terry could admit that the other boy was attractive, and Superboy obviously also knew that he was damn good to look at because he lounged comfortably in the air, seemingly without a care in the world. Superboy smirked, "Like what you see?"

"It's _Batman_ , Supertool." Terry shot back, turning his eyes away from the other boy, thankful that his full-faced mask hid the blush burning across his cheeks.

Superboy laughed, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair to stare at Terry with friendly sky blue eyes. "You got another name? Or did Uncle Bruce ban you from sharing?"

Terry hesitated, "It's Terry."

Superboy's eyebrows rose, and his smirk grew, "Terry, huh?" He echoed in a purr, and Terry twitched. "Well, Lucas Jonathan Kent, at your service, Terry." He bowed playfully and shot a playful wink towards Batman, "My friends and family call me Luca. Or Lucas if they're boring."

The name suit him.

Terry hummed, turning his attention back towards the streets, searching for crime to stop in an attempt to keep his eyes off the pretty boy behind him.

( _It was completely natural,_ Terry told himself; _it was a completely natural human reaction to admire pretty people_.)

 

 

The next time Terry saw Superboy was a a month later. He arrived at Wayne Manor like he did every night, dressed in his civilian clothes and ready for a night of training, and rang the pager at the gates.

"Hey there, Batboy."

Terry startled, head snapping up to see Superboy hovering a few meters above him, grinning playfully. He was wearing civvies, not that different from his uniform with dark jeans and a black leather jacket, with red converse shoes and a dark band shirt. There was a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and the majority of his hair was covered by a black beanie. "Supertool," Terry greeted, and Superboy laughed, dropping to the ground to stand beside him.

"We're in our civvies, just call me Luca, dude."

Terry rolled his eyes as the gates creaked open and set off towards the dark manor, Superboy trailing behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting Uncle Bruce," Superboy told him cheerfully, "He thought it might do you some good to train against someone with super strength, and I may not be as fast as my cousins, but I'm fast enough to get you started."

Terry glanced at the other teenager out of the corner of his eye, "What's with the dorky glasses?" He asked finally, and Superboy snorted.

"It's Kryptonian mind crystal," Superboy -Luca- explained, "Keeps my identity secret, warps perceptions if you don't know who I am. It's why Kents are known for our 'terrible eyesight'."

Terry snorted. "Terrible eyesight?" He echoed in amusement, and Luca grinned.

"The _worst_ ," The quarter Kryptonian agreed playfully, "Sometimes we have to squint so much you could swear we're shooting lasers from our eyes."

 

 

Their next meeting wasn't as playful. Len Luthor's shadowy underworld business had been tracked to their operation in Gotham City, creating superpowered criminals that they would then unleash into the world and Superboy and his sister had flown in the lend a hand.

Supergirl, Luca's younger sister, (according to Luca, who seemed to have a sister complex with how much he gushed about his 'cute and scary powerful baby sister', her full name was Martha Rose Kent), did resemble him a great deal, with curly black hair and bright green eyes. The thirteen year old's uniform was a lot more traditional then her brother's punk - like style; her dark hair was pulled back with a blue scrunchy, and her suit was majority blue, with a short red cape, red gloves, and red skirt, and red boots.

With the help of the two superhuman teenagers, the main operation in Gotham was shut down pretty easily, something Batman probably wouldn't have been able to do that quickly all on his own. The normal human criminals were being led off by the police, while the superpowered ones were being prepared to be sent off to Arkham Asylum, when Supergirl approached him, watching him with serious green eyes.

"My brother talks about you a lot." The young teenager told him, and Terry blinked, "I think he likes you a lot more than he let's on." She frowned, "You have a _girlfriend_ , right?"

Terry, at a complete loss for words, simply nodded silently.

Supergirl hummed thoughtfully, "I hope you don't break his heart. Luca's a lot more sensitive then he lets on." She then smiled innocently, patted him gently on the cheek and said sweetly; "You break his heart, I break your spine."

 

 

It was four months after Supergirl's rather ominous threat towards his health that Terry's relationship with Dana strained to the point of no return. Most of Terry's free time was spent either with Bruce or as Batman, and honestly, he couldn't really blame Dana for getting tired of waiting, but it didn't stop him from feeling like complete shit.

Terry stared despondently as his cellphone after Dana had hung up, her words ringing in his head. Dana had been right, and Terry felt terrible for agreeing with her statement, but it really wasn't working out between them anymore, and Terry's attention couldn't only be on Dana anymore.

Almost without consciously considering it, Terry scrolled through his contacts, pulling up Luca's number.

_T: hey man, u busy?_

_L: Nope. Just at home playing video games w/Marth_

_L: She's winning_

_L: What's up?_

Terry frowned slightly at the other teen's immediate response, but shrugged. He had superpowers, answering a text while gaming must be pretty easy for him.

_T: just got dumped, want to come to gotham?_

_T: I need pity pizza_

_T: also want to get smashed_

_L: Dude, I'm all for it, but I'm not a fun person to get drunk with._

_L: I inherited enough of my powers from my Ma that I can't actually get drunk._

_L: Fast metabolism._

_L: Also, we're both only 17_

_T: that's fine, I just really need to get drunk and eat pizza and feel sorry for myself_

_T: there's drinks back at my place, mom is usually fine if I drink at home with a friend_

_T: and I really only have two friends_

_T: you being one of them_

_L: How sweet, let me ask Ma if she'll run me over_

A few minutes later, Luca sent the next text.

_L: Ma says okay, want me to meet you somewhere?_

_T: fillipo's pizzaria, just off main street_

_L: K be there soon :)_

Terry quickly threw himself off his bed, trudging over to his door to collect his jacket and slide out into the main room, writing out a quick note for his mom and brother for when they got back, telling them he was meeting a friend for pizza, then they'd be coming back home. It didn't take too long to get from their apartment to the small pizzaria just off of the main street, and he easily caught sight of Luca standing outside of the tiny, old-fashioned building, a woman with short, fiery red hair standing next to him.

"Hey, Terry!" Luca waved when he caught sight of him, and Terry jogged over. "This is my lovely Ma. Ma, this is Terry." The taller teenager gestured to the woman beside him, who's green eyes shone cheerfully.

"Irey Kent, it's nice to meet you, Terry." Mrs. Kent introduced herself, and Terry could see where Luca got his personality. "This tall glass of water is my beautiful son." She had to stand on her toes to ruffle her son's hair. "I'll head back home, Kiddo. Call me when you want me to come get you."

Luca's cheeks flushed, and he smiled, "Thanks, Ma."

Mrs. Kent sent one last smile Terry's way, before setting off down the streets.

A few hours later found Terry and Luca back in Terry's room, surrounded by beer and a couple boxes of pizza, a horrible action movie blaring on the television. "Y'know what sucks?" Terry slurred blearily, taking a large gulp from his beer and squinted at where Luca sat perched on the other end of his bed. "Bruce was right."

"Isn't he always?" The other teenager grinned, taking a bite from his Hawaiian pizza (an affront on all things pizza, in Terry's opinion) as he watched Terry with worried eyes.

Terry nodded, knocking back the last of the can, then moved to grab another. "Shouldn't date civilians, Bruce told me. Rarely works out."

"Both my grandmothers are civilians," Luca informed Terry in an attempt to comfort him, "Who knows, you could just get lucky. If it's not Dana, it could be someone else."

Terry hummed, blinking at his friend's pretty face, drunken eyes scanning his pale skin, the small smattering of freckles on Luca's nose, and the lips that looked very soft, and very different from Dana's.

Luca frowned slightly, reaching forward to take Terry's beer away from him, "Dude, I think you've had enough." Terry whined grabbing for the can, only to have Luca move it furthur away from him, leading to the drunk teenager loosing his balance and tipping into the taller boy's lap; now, if Terry were sober, he would've been mortified by his actions, but Terry was drunk as shit, and the only thought on his fuzzy mind was that Luca's lap was very comfortable and Luca's lips were very inviting.

Terry leaned forward, and kissed him.

 

 

Luca avoided him for the next month, and it made Terry feel terrible when his near-photographic memory remembered what had happened; Luca didn't come to Gotham, he wouldn't call, and he never answered when Terry called or texted. The day following the drunken kiss, after Luca had shoved him away and fled, Terry had received a text from an unknown number that had carried a very familiar message.

_??: Do I need to brake your spine?_

It took a month of Terry feeling like a terrible person and moping before he finally worked up the courage to track his friend down. It was pretty easy to get his address, Terry just had to pull it from Bruce's computer, it had been a little harder to put aside the time to travel to Metropolis, but Terry had managed it. Now he was standing in front of a nice family home, staring nervously at the front door as it swung open to allow Martha to glare dangerously at him from behind her glasses.

"What're you doing here?" The fourteen year old scowled,

"Hey, Martha, is Luca home?" Terry nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Depends on what you want," Martha grumbled, "Luca didn't tell me what happened when he went to Gotham for you, but he's been really out of it since."

Terry blushed, gray-blue eyes shifting away from the younger teenager's suspicious gaze.

"Leave him alone, Marth."

Terry looked back to the door as Luca shuffled into view, looking ruffled for the first time in the time Terry had known him wearing baggy sweatpants and a tanktop, his hair a mess and slightly damp, glasses sliding down his nose. Terry swallowed nervously as the other teen ran a hand through his messy hair as he shooed his sister away from the door.

Blue eyes shifted back to Terry, and Luca twitched minutely. "Hey, Terry." He greeted as he toed on his shoes, not bothering to tie them as he exited to house and led the other teenager around the back of the house. "Sorry for avoiding you," Luca said guiltily, rubbing his hands on his sweatpants.

"I should be the one apologizing." Terry interrupted him, "I shouldn't have done it."

Luca flinched, gaze sliding away from the other dark haired teenager. "...I enjoyed it..." Luca said quietly, "That's why I was avoiding you... I wasn't angry."

Terry paused, nervously wringing his hands. "Do you... think I could try something?"

"What kind of something?" Luca breathed, and Terry licked his lips, eyes shifting towards Luca's face as he shifted closer to the taller teen and he placed a hand on Luca's shoulder.

"I was pretty drunk last time," Terry admitted, "I enjoyed it then, I want to see if I enjoy it sober."

Luca chuckled nervously, cheeks flushing. "Alright."

Terry slipped his hand onto the back of the other boy's neck, tugging him down the inch Luca had on him so that their lips would meet, and Terry kissed him, this time without alcohol messing with his head.

A shudder passed through Terry's body and pressed closer to Luca, he could feel the other boy's heart racing through the two layers of fabric between them. He twitched when Luca's hands slid up to his waist and the taller teen tilted his head enough to deepen the kiss.

He smelled like pine shampoo, a giddy part of Terry's mind noted. He pulled away, breath stuttering as Luca peered at him with surprised blue eyes. "I liked it a lot more this time." Terry admitted.

Luca chuckled, "Me too."


End file.
